Leisure/Arts

SeaWorld swings to second-quarter loss

TessStynes

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.
SEAS, -0.49%
swung to a second-quarter loss amid expenses related to its initial public offering in April and early debt-extinguishment losses and other items.

Shares were down 12% at $32.10 in recent after-hours trading Tuesday as adjusted earnings and revenue missed expectations and the company lowered its revenue outlook for 2013. Through the close, the stock is up 34% from its IPO price of $27.

In the latest quarter, the theme-park operator also was hurt by lower attendance anticipated as the result of new pricing strategies as well as impacts from an earlier Easter holiday season and adverse weather conditions at some of its parks.

For the year, the company lowered its revenue estimate to $1.45 billion to $1.48 billion, from its previous estimate of $1.46 billion to $1.49 billion.

The Orlando, Fla., company operates 11 theme parks, including two Busch Gardens and three of its namesake destinations. The company had seen its bottom line improve on increasing revenue over the past few years.

Blackstone Group LP
BX, -0.91%
which bought the theme-park operator in 2009 from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (BUD, ABI.BT) for about $2.3 billion, reaped about $505 million in proceeds from selling part of its SeaWorld stake in the company's IPO during April. The private-equity firm remains SeaWorld's largest shareholder with a stake of roughly 63%.

SeaWorld reported a second-quarter loss of $15.9 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $39.1 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding expenses related to its IPO, early-debt extinguishment charges and other items, adjusted earnings were 41 cents a share. Revenue decreased 3.4% to $411.3 million as attendance fell 9%.

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